“Peasant girls can’t ride a warhorse or the saddle sores of Joan of Arc” by Linda Stupart

On April 11 at 7 p.m., artist Linda Stupart will present an activation of Peasant girls can’t ride a warhorse or the saddle sores of Joan of Arc, a text written for Ali Arévalo as part of Hangar’s Text Collection. The performance will take place within Ali Arévalo’s exhibition Les Faules de Lepòrida, currently on view at Can Felipa Arts Visuals until April 26.

“Joan of Arc’s horse is enormous, of course. Its coat is an oily, mirror-black, reflecting the shine of both Joan’s armour and her religious convictions. Like all horses, Joan of Arc’s horse was born with soft, slippery tentacles on its legs, so as not to tear its mother’s insides apart during birth. Sometimes, armour protects bodies from the outside, and sometimes protection is soft and viscous; falling from hooves sharp as swords onto straw-covered floors: coming out of the womb and out of the sign of Woman.

Meanwhile, in the room next door, Jesus emerges fatherless in the manger: a virgin birth (a clone). Jesus develops his colt sneakers later, as they/he become a man; become a body: dies horribly.

And, to be honest, I’d like to request one trans invisibility day, please—slipping out of sight and out of the State’s surveillance; climbing down from the burning pyres—it’s okay to be a witch as long as no one can see you or catch you, right?”
Linda Stupart

Linda Stupart is an artist, writer, and educator from Cape Town (South Africa), currently based in Birmingham (UK). Their recent work explores climate change, embodiment, abjection, and the transgression of borders through performance, film, writing, and sculpture. They are the author of La Virus, published by Cielosanto Press.

Recently, they have performed as and upon icebergs in the Arctic Circle (2019); submerged themselves in the River Cole in Birmingham (2021–2023); balanced on a precarious log in the Danube (2024); and floated on a homemade raft in Birmingham’s Grand Union Canal (2024).

Practical Information
Date: April 11
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Can Felipa Arts Visuals
Free admission

 

Text Colection is supported by Ministerio de Cultura.